I have been to many craft fairs in my time but never have I had my own stuff there. Since being at Uni, I have seen lots of people I admire on Instagram selling their illustrations at fairs and always thinking it was something I would love to do. As I have said before, it is only towards the start of my third year at Uni I started to make work I was proud of would want other people to buy.

I came about finding this craft fair as it is at a local pub. On night in the week I was there having a few drinks with friends when there was a small flyer on the table about how there would be a craft fair at the pub on May Bank Holiday. It was then I was encouraged by the people I was with to email the pub and see if they had a small space for me there to sell some bits. This goes back to my previous post about taking opportunities. This opportunity was literally in front of my face and I would be silly to ignore it. A few emails later and my spot was secured. I don’t know how the normal process goes but this one felt very straight forward.

This fair will be a great starting point for me. As it is the pubs first craft fair, it is free of charge (great for my pocket!) which means everything I should sell will be profit. Before I can even think about making profit, I had to look into the stock that I have already and see what else I need to fill my space and provide variety to my stall. I did this by making a mini ‘mock-up’ of my stall and laying all my work out on the table and having a good look at the aesthetic of my stand and the other bits and pieces I would need.

I took my time by beginning the prep 3 weeks before the fair as it was new to me, I wanted to get it right and make sure I had everything I needed and there would be no last minute flaps. I had to think about stock but I also had to think about display, pricing and banners making sure everything was clear for customers. As a customer, what would I want from a craft fair stall?

Looking through Pinterest, I was looking at other fair stands and what they looked like to give me some more guidance and support about how I could have my stall looking. I started by looking at things I had just around my house to use for display to hold my work in keep cost down. I tried to look at things that were wooden, clear or white/brown to try and blend the ‘construction’ and ‘display’ into the background. I found a few items that would work and I also ordered myself a small stand that I was really happy with the price and the quality.

As the stall approaches in the next few days I am now added the finishing touches of wrapping up my prints in cellophane, adding prices, writing a stock list and trying to advertise as much as I can to drum up some publicity to the event. Luckily, any left-over stock won’t be wasted as I have a few other retail outlets that I can sell my work at - I want to speak about these more in another blog post!

What have I learnt so far? Recap:

· Prep is key to feeling organised (and help you act like you know what you’re doing!)

· Mock up your stall up so you can visual better how it will look on the day.

· Think about display and how you want the stand to work for your customers.

· Price things big and clear so that customers can see how much your things are quickly.

· It’s a first look into the world of craft fairs so enjoy it and give it everything.

· Over stock rather than under-stock

I am excited to see what the event holds, the people I will meet and I’m looking forward to the overall experience.

I will keep you posted about how the event went and some after thoughts! – hopefully see you there Monday Bank Holiday, May 28th 12pm – 4pm - Barley Mow, Paulerspury NN12